estoration, and improved land management practices that increase carbon storage and avoid GHGs emissions across forests, wetlands, and agricultural lands. The Nature Conservancy, USA has touted NCSs as a “cost-effective” tool in mitigating climate change. The UN Climate Action Summit 2019 places much emphasis on NCSs. Recently, Greta Thunberg—a Swedish girl who has become the face of climate change activism—claims “we are ignoring NCSs.”Natural climate solutions: Optimal approach to averting climate catastrophe
Bangladesh has pledged an unconditional 5 per cent GHGs cut by 2030, adding that with technology and financial support from other countries it will reduce emissions by 15 per cent
RANJAN ROY
Meeting the Paris Climate Agreement is contingent upon both reducing emissions and removing greenhouse gases (GHGs) from the atmosphere. A Nature journals study estimates even complete and immediate decarbonisation of energy and industry alone might not be sufficient to limit warming to 1.5 C. An untapped set of natural climate solutions (NCSs) would be a powerful complement to energy transformations.
NCSs define as conservation, restoration, and improved land management practices that increase carbon storage and avoid GHGs emissions across forests, wetlands, and agricultural lands. The Nature Conservancy, USA has touted NCSs as a cost-effective tool in mitigating climate change. The UN Climate Action Summit 2019 places much emphasis on NCSs. Recently, Greta Thunberga Swedish girl who has become the face of climate change activismclaims we are ignoring NCSs.
The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) study demonstrates NCSs could address up to 37% global GHG emissions reductions needed by 2030 to stabilise the climate. Additionally, using only cost-effective solutions ( US$100 per tonne CO2), natures mitigation potential is estimated at 11.3 billion tons CO2 equivalent in 2030the equivalent of stopping burning oil globally.
Recently, NCSs have received huge attention to the business leaders (e.g., Shell, British Petroleum, Norways Equinor, and Italys Eni), as they are harnessing the power of nature to repair broken climate, acknowledging the co-benefits of NCSs, recognising the massive opportunity of embedding NCSs in their carbon strategies, assessing their land-related carbon impacts and opportunities, and redesigning their production systems by employing the tenet of NCSs.
This write-up presents a portfolio of NCSs that offer a powerful set of options for us to averting climate catastrophe while improving soil productivity, cleaning the air and water, and maintaining biodiversity.
Proforestation: Proforestationrefers to protecting, stewarding and restoring the natural, intact and stable forestsis an effective, immediate, and low-cost approach for removing and storing GHGs in the long-term, studies estimate. It provides the most effective solution to dual global crisesclimate change and biodiversity loss. Extending harvest cycles allows trees to grow more before theyre felled, increasing the average carbon stock across a working forest. Proforestation could be implemented across suitable forests of all types. Reforestation: The millions of hectares of land are deforested, much of it provides little or no food production, but would provide excellent opportunities for cost-effective reforestation, studies indicate. Reforesting these lands would sequester billions of tonnes of CO2 without disrupting food production. A PNAS study reports, Reforestation is the largest natural pathway and deserves more attention to identify low-cost mitigation opportunities.
Improved plantations: Improved plantations pathways offer cost-efficient mitigation opportunities. The plantation must manage on longer harvest rotation lengths that deliver broader economic and environmental benefits. Extending harvest cycles to increase carbon uptake in timber plantations would sequester hundreds of millions of tons of CO2 equivalent per year.
Avoided fuelwood harvest: It is an age-old problem of destroying the forest in developing countries. Improving cookstoves to burn more efficiently would reduce the amount of wood taken from forests, leaving more carbon in trees. The challenges of cutting fuelwood harvest are mostly logistical. The government must address this problem.
Cropland nutrient management: It is the largest cost-effective agricultural pathway of mitigation, a PNAS study reports. Synthetic fertilizers use a significant source of GHGs. A Science journals study suggests four improved management practices: reduced whole-field application rate, switching from anhydrous ammonia to urea, improved timing of fertilizer application, and variable application rate within the field.
Conservation agriculture (CA): CA has three principles: minimum soil disturbance, managing the topsoil and practicing diverse crop rotations, which consequently increases the amount of carbon stored in the soil, while also improving soil quality and fertility, FAO shows. Adoption of CA largely hinges on farmers knowledge development.
Agroforestry: Agroforestry is essential both for climate change mitigation and adaptation. It uses less fertilizer, reducing the direct emissions of N2O and indirect GHG emissions created through fertilizer production. By increasing biomass above ground and in soils, agroforestry substantially helps create carbon sinks. Improved rice cultivation: The agricultural sector is the worlds second-largest emitter, after the energy (i.e., power generation and transport) sector. Rice cultivation is responsible for about 10% of global emissions, each year, FAO estimates. Technologies and practicesrotation crop, alternate wetting and drying, and system of rice intensification (SRI)are proven to reduce emissions from rice cultivation.
Animal management: Livestock contributes to 14.5% of all anthropogenic GHG emissions, FAO reports. Cattle are responsible for most emissions, representing about 65% of the livestock sectors emissions. Interventions to reduce emissions are primarily based on technologies (feeding techniques) and practices that improve production efficiency at animal and herd levels.
Coastal wetland restoration and protection: Globally, most of the coastal wetlands are degraded by natural disasters and anthropogenic pressures, and in need of restoration and protection. About 1900 km2 of Sundarbans area was affected by tropical cyclone SIDR in 200, studies find. Mangroves protect coastal areas. They are a source of terrestrial carbon and act as distributors of dissolved organic carbon to the oceans. Increasing institutional capacity and promoting community-based actions are crucial to re-establishing and protecting coastal wetlands.
Peatland restoration and protection: Peatlands store incredible amounts of carbon. Hence, degraded peatlands are responsible for a large portion of carbon emissions. Another Nature journals study shows, peatland has underappreciated potential for mitigation. The World Economic Forum reports five ways of restoring peatlands: canal blocking, water management, re-vegetation, re-zoning, and restore livelihoods.
Bangladesh has pledged an unconditional 5% GHGs cut by 2030, adding that with technology and financial support from other countries it will reduce emissions by 15%. By investing in NCSs, Bangladesh can achieve the latter target without having assistances from the others; despite economically viable mitigation potentials from NCS are still poorly understood in this country.
Taking natural solutions from physical potential to climate reality will require coordinated action across sectors, minimising associated institutional, technological, and political barriers. Importantly, new research needs to estimate the country-level potential for NCSs and assess policies and incentives to realise that potential best.
Ranjan Roy, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Dept. of Agricultural Extension
and Information System, Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka.
He can be contacted at: : [email protected]
